Ireland - STOP THE DEATH SHIPS

  • by: Polly Folley
  • recipient: Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine - Michael Creed; President of the Irish Farmers Association Joe Healy; Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar; Australia Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce; EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development P, Ireland

We demand legislation to STOP and BAN the export of live animals destined for fattening or slaughter abroad

Every year millions of live animals including hundreds of thousands of live cattle are exported. They suffer gruelling journeys, that take days, even weeks in often overcrowded conditions. During the journey they can become ill or injured, suffer stress, fear and pain. They often slip, slide and fall, arriving covered in excrement, Terrified animals can fight back and may be maimed, blinded or hoisted to the ceiling by their legs. All may be beaten or kicked.

Cattle shipped to the EU may continue to a third country. Now unprotected by EU rules animals have been recorded by journalists as being without food and water for long periods, sometimes dying on the onward journey and arriving at their destination filthy, injured or standing on the carcasses of animals that have died. In the summer months the ships can be very hot causing further discomfort for the animals.

The Irish government and the IFA (Irish Farmers Association) are have planned to increase shipments to third world countries including Turkey, Libya, Algeria and Egypt. These countries have no animal welfare legislation in place and practice inhumane methods of slaughter that include being:


1. hoisted to the ceiling by one rear leg when fully conscious and slaughtered.

2. deliberately injured, tendons cut to restrict movement when handling.

3. restrained fully conscious bulls hacked to slit their throats.

4 restrained and hit with a sledgehammer.

5. blinded by being stabbed in the eyes.

Slaughter practices in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa are immensely cruel. They are, moreover in breach of the international standards on welfare at slaughter of the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health). Furthermore, Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU provides that the EU and the Member States must "pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals". Sending animals to countries in which they will be slaughtered in ways that are cruel and in breach of international standards on animal welfare does not "pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals". Ireland's live exports to Turkey, the


Please watch the videos here
https://www.animalsinternational.org/take_action/live-export-global/?ua_s=AI.org

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/petitions/ban-live-export/

https://vimeo.com/204967874

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmF2zBUOcc8

Please read the newspaper reports here…
Newspapers have repeatedly reported the problem here are some examples
The Irish Times.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/investigation-alleges-abuse-of-animals-exported-from-ireland-1.2996480
The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/01/revealed-exported-eu-animals-subject-to-abuse-illegal-conditions
The Irish Independent
http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/beef/live-export-shipments-to-come-under-greater-animal-welfare-scrutiny-35315311.html

Dear Sir/Madam, You may be unaware that  animals exported form Ireland can suffer horrendous cruelty once they pass from the Irish legal jurisdiction. It is possible that Irish farmers would not allow this should this become known. Ireland can lead the world in its treatment of animals by making such barbarity illegal.  Please act now to put an end to this. The content of our petition is as follows. IRELAND - STOP THE DEATH SHIPS Ban the export of live cattle by whatever means to all and every country worldwide. Animal export is against the guidelines of the World Animal Health Organisation (OEI). Year by year hundreds of thousands of live cattle are exported from Ireland. They face gruelling journeys, sometimes taking several days, even weeks in often overcrowded conditions. They feel dread, fear, pain and terror on the journey. On arrival they are slaughtered. After arrival in the EU, Cattle can again be sent on for slaughter outside the EU. On foreign soil as part of their onward journey, no longer under the jurisdiction of the DAFM, Irish animals have been recorded by journalists as often without food and water, many dying on the onward journey and arriving at their destination injured or standing on the carcasses of animals that have died.  Their treatment from export staff, sometimes in self defence, can include: Beatings Tendons slashed to stop kicking Blinding Legs tied and the animal hoisted to travel suspended   Facilities for humane slaughter do not always exist in the country of slaughter and where they do exist have not always been adhered to. This has resulted in Animals hoisted to the ceiling by one rear leg when fully conscious and slaughtered, Deliberately injured, tendons cut to restrict movement when handling, Restrained fully conscious bulls hacked to slit their throats. Restrained and hit with a sledgehammer. Please watch the videos of treatment outside the EU here…. https://www.animalsinternational.org/take_action/live-export-global/?ua_s=AI.org http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/petitions/ban-live-export/   Laws in Ireland and the EU have no jurisdiction over anything that happens once animals disembark in non EU countries.  As the Transport, handling and slaughter conditions and standards of welfare cannot be guaranteed it is crucial Ireland as a member of the EU does not condone this total lack of standards for it's livestock by sending them to such countries on the hoof. Ireland boasts of it's high standards of Welfare and it is possible that Irish farmers are unaware that the cattle they have cared for can be treated in this way. And if they did know, would be unwilling to  allow the stock they have fed and cared for since birth  to end their lives in such dreadful conditions.   The only way to truly prevent this is to Ban the live export of cattle  by whatever means to all and every  country worldwide. Please watch the videos here https://www.animalsinternational.org/take_action/live-export-global/?ua_s=AI.org http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/petitions/ban-live-export/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmF2zBUOcc8   Please read the newspaper reports here… Newspapers have repeatedly reported the problem here are some extracts The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/investigation-alleges-abuse-of-animals-exported-from-ireland-1.2996480 The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/01/revealed-exported-eu-animals-subject-to-abuse-illegal-conditions   The Irish Independent http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/beef/live-export-shipments-to-come-under-greater-animal-welfare-scrutiny-35315311.html
Update #75 years ago
Petition submitted to Ireland's government. Discussed by Agriculture committee on 4 Feb 2019. No further news. Thanks for signing Polly xx



Update #65 years ago
https://www.change.org/p/ban-fur-farming-in-ireland Please also sign to ban fur farming. This etition has been submitted to the Irish govt.
Update #55 years ago
PLEASE POST THIS ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE (and anywhere else).
The Irish government are feeling the pressure but they have refused to be convinced. We need to make it painful for them. PLEASE POST THIS PETITION AGAIN.
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